The present invention relates generally to an article container and more particularly, to a container in which articles are both shipped and a plurality thereof stackably tiered for displaying the articles.
It is an accepted fact today that in many instances the cost of packaging and displaying articles for sale can significantly contribute to the overall cost of the merchandise. It is a continual effort, therefore, in the packaging industry to develop containers which are inexpensive yet attractive and appealing to the eye of a potential purchaser.
In the branch of merchandising directed to the sale of small articles such as gum, cough drops, or lip ice, it is a conventional practice for manufacturers to package such articles in a colorful display box. The retailer either places each such box directly on a conventional display shelf or rack, or transfers the articles themselves to a counter-top vending display. These vending display structures in many instances include inclined shelves for automatic advancement of the articles once the foremost article has been vended. After a certain number of the articles have been dispensed, the display is replenished by replacing the articles individually. Other types of display structures hold the boxed articles, thereby eliminating the need to individually handle such articles.
There are also available vending displays which are similar to those described above, but which have tiered shelving arrangements where the boxed articles, or the articles themselves, can be displayed in a vertically arrayed arrangement. Once the merchandise of one or more shelves of such a tiered arrangement becomes depleted of merchandise, and if not replenished, the framework of the display structure becomes visible and the display, as a whole, becomes unattractive because of its empty appearance. Competitive commercial considerations dictate that for maximum influence on a potential customer, the product dress, as well as the display, must be aesthetically pleasing and attention-getting.
While the merchandise displays discussed above serve an intended purpose, such displays suffer the disadvantage of being generally tailored, because of size or advertisement considerations, for specific products and, therefore, have a limited use. Such displays can be costly, must be purchased as an additional item as a prerequisite for displaying the articles, as well as necessitate being stored or discarded when the product is temporarily out of stock or discontinued. All of these aspects represent indirect expenses to the retailer which are passed on to the purchaser in the form of higher article prices.
Another major drawback of many article or merchandise displays known in the art is the time and effort required to assemble the display structure. The display structures are often complicated and require instructions and even tools or hardware such as nuts and screws to facilitate the erection thereof. Other types of displays are constructed from cardboard-like paper material with a complicated scheme of interlocking tabs and slots which must be mated--not a lot unlike putting a jig-saw puzzle together.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to the article manufacturer if the empty containers were compactly nestable themselves and preformed, thereby eliminating the need for a container erecting machine. It would be equally desirable to the retailer if the container in which the articles were packed was constructed in a manner such as to form an inexpensive, simple, engageable tiered display structure thereby obviating the need of a wholly separate structure.
Furthermore, as each tier were depleted of merchandise it could be simply discarded without exposing an underlying frame structure. It would be highly advantageous to the retailer to choose the size of the display, i.e., the number of containers stacked, or to occasionally change the article capacity of the display to suit one's particular needs.